Improving Information Interaction between the Metallurgical Plant and Rail Operators

The current situation of development of the world economy presupposes intense competition in both external and internal markets. Under these conditions, it becomes more and more obvious that the growth of profits and, accordingly, further development of companies will be carried out not so much through expansion, but through improved service for customers, an increase in the range of goods and services offered, a better product quality and a decrease in production costs.The main role in optimisation of technological processes is currently played by digital transformation of production. The introduction of advanced information technologies is of great importance for all global companies, since the enhanced development of information systems results in improvement of business processes, better safety, and environmental friendliness.International studies show that the use of modern information technologies in transport industry is necessary to improve traffic safety, reduce environmental impact, increase the efficiency of the transportation process.The Russian mining and metallurgical sector, along with the oil and gas industry, makes a significant contribution to development of the country. Complex production technology, a large volume of traffic, hazardous and dangerous working conditions for personnel necessitate development of a digital environment to increase labour productivity and the volume of products.The objective of the research is to study the possibility of using information control and forecasting systems for solving technical, technological, and organisational problems of industrial railways of metallurgical plants.Based on comparative analysis, general scientific and mathematical research methods and the study of the role of information systems in digital transformation of production process, the authors suggest a methodology for creating a stochastic model for predicting the arrival of unit trains at an enterprise, and consider development trends in digital transformation of industrial transport.

Foresight Management of National Oil and Gas Industry Development

Changes in modern technologies have led to a decrease in the role of oil and threaten the well-being of oil-exporting countries. The oil and gas industry is the leading one in the economy of Kazakhstan, and the future of the country depends on its development. The purpose of the presented research is to determine the long-term image of the future oil and gas industry and develop a strategy for the government and national companies in different spheres for actions in conditions of increasing uncertainty. The article presents the materials of an expert survey using the Delphi method (211 industry experts) and a group discussion during a foresight session (75 participants), in which the authors provided methodological support and practical participation. The top nine development trends have been identified, the majority of experts (about 90%) see the future of the industry as the development of unmanned production based on digital management and an increase in environmental requirements (85%). The author’s methodology is based on a pragmatic approach to conducting an industry technological foresight in the medium term. The visionary image of the development of the oil and gas industry is built on the basis of the possibilities of technological breakthroughs. The refined image was formed as a response to the challenges of the external environment on the principle of the “Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable”. The main characteristic of the future of the oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan is a deserted production, where the production process is fully automated and robotic. Risks of oil and gas industry development are critical for the entire economy of Kazakhstan, so plans based on industry foresight projections to prevent them are a national priority.

Who will man the rigs when we go?” transnational demographic fever dreams between Qatar and Texas

The educational project of producing engineers in Qatar is uniquely embedded in global capitalism, particularly as a field closely tied to the development of the oil and gas industry, the military and logistics spaces across the Gulf. Over the past two decades, U.S. universities based in the region have become significant spaces where new generations of managerial engineering labor are educated. Drawing on 18 months of institutional ethnographic research, I examine Texas A&M University at Qatar’s (TAMUQ) role in managing the gender demographics of Qatari engineering labor and the experiences of students navigating these institutional mechanisms. The increasing number of women studying at Texas A&M’s engineering branch campus are publicly celebrated by the university as the embodiment of progress in Qatar. At the same time, TAMUQ has worked to mitigate the feminization of engineering through outreach activities that present engineering as a masculine patriotic endeavor. To unpack these contradictory tendencies, I build on the feminist concept of “demographic fever dreams.” Through an examination of contradictory population-based anxieties about Qatari engineering students, I argue that a U.S. land-grant university is a participant and driver of fantasies and fears regarding the future of racialized and gendered labor hierarchies and fossil-fueled capitalism in the Gulf. In doing so, this article offers a grounded feminist intervention to examine the connections between transnational education, U.S. hegemony, and the fossil fuel industry.

Production Monitoring of Multilateral Wells by Quantum Marker Systems

Reliable information about the inflow composition and distribution in a multilateral well is of great importance and an existing challenge in the oil and gas industry. In this paper, we present an innovative method for dynamic monitoring of inflow profile based on quantum marker technology in a multi-lateral well located in West Siberia. Marker systems were placed in the well during the well reconstruction by horizontal side tracking with the parent borehole remaining in production. This way of reconstruction allows development of the reservoir drainage area with a lateral hole and bringing the oil reserves from the parent borehole into production, which results in an increased flow rate and improved oil recovery rate. Placement of marker systems into parent borehole and side-track for fluid distribution monitoring allows to evaluate the flow rate from every borehole and estimate the effectiveness of performed well reconstruction. Marker systems are placed into the parent borehole as a downhole sub installed into the well completion string. For the side-track polymer-coated marked proppant was injected during hydraulic fracturing to place markers. The developed method was reliably used for an accurate and fast determination of the inflow distribution in a multi-lateral well which allows more efficient field development and also enabled us to provide effective solutions for following challenges: Providing tools for timely water cut diagnostics in multilateral wells and information for water shut-off method selection; Selecting the optimal well operating mode for effective field development and premature flooding prevention in one or both boreholes; Evaluating whether well construction was performed efficiently, and an increased production rate was achieved; Leading to a considerable economic savings in capital expenditure.

Impact of Industry-Specific Risk Factors on Stock Returns of the Malaysian Oil and Gas Industry in a Structural Break Environment

This study examines the impact of industry-specific risk factors such as oil price, gas price, and exchange rate on stock returns of Malaysian oil and gas firms in a structural break environment by employing the break least square approach of Bai and Perron (1998, 2003). Existing studies fall short of providing such empirical evidence. The results document evidence of structural breaks in the relationship between industry risk factors and the stock returns of the oil and gas industry. Industry-specific risk factors are shown to significantly affect the stock returns of oil and gas industry sub-sectors alongside market-based risk factors. The results reveal that the beta values of oil price, gas price, and exchange rate vary across sub-periods hence confirming that exposure of oil and gas stocks to industry risk factors varies over time and across sub-periods. The effects of oil, gas, and exchange rate risk factors also differ across the sub-industry, with impacts and directions largely dependent on the core business activities of the oil and gas sub-industries. The empirical results offer implications for asset managers and investors.

Supercritical Fluid Application in the Oil and Gas Industry: A Comprehensive Review

The unique properties of supercritical fluid technology have found wide application in various industry sectors. Supercritical fluids allow for the obtainment of new types of products with special characteristics, or development and design of technological processes that are cost-effective and friendly to the environment. One of the promising areas where supercritical fluids, especially carbon dioxide, can be used is the oil industry. In this regard, the present review article summarizes the results of theoretical and experimental studies of the use of supercritical fluids in the oil and gas industry for supercritical extraction in the course of oil refining, increasing oil recovery in the production of heavy oil, hydraulic fracturing, as well as processing and disposal of oil sludge and asphaltenes. At the end of the present review, the issue of the impact of supercritical fluid on the corrosion of oil and gas equipment is considered. It is found that supercritical fluid technologies are very promising for the oil industry, but supercritical fluids also have disadvantages, such as expansion or incompatibility with materials (for example, rubber).

Performance Comparison of Control Strategies for Plant-Wide Produced Water Treatment

Offshore produced water treatment (PWT) accounts for cleaning the largest waste stream in the offshore oil and gas industry. If this separation process is not properly executed, large amounts of oil are often directly discharged into the ocean. This work extends two grey-box models of a three-phase gravity separator and a deoiling hydrocyclone, and combines them into a single plant-wide model for testing PWT control solutions in a typical process configuration. In simulations, three known control solutions—proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, H∞ control, and model predictive control (MPC)—are compared on the combined model to evaluate the separation performance. The results of the simulations clearly show what performance metrics each controller excels at, such as valve wear, oil discharge, oil-in-water (OiW) concentration variance, and constraint violations. The work incentivizes future control to be based on operational policy, such as defining boundary constraints and weights on oil discharge, rather than maintaining conventional intermediate performance metrics, such as water level in the separation and pressure drop ratio (PDR) over the hydrocyclone.

Integrating inspection management (IM) in piping system of petroleum industry in Iran

Purpose This paper aims to report on the findings from a research project, incorporated by Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum, investigating the integration of inspection management with analysis of document information. Design/methodology/approach A combination of group and individual interviews were undertaken with qualitative methods of analysis to develop an integrated process model. The model developed uses integrity management factors, which allows flexibility and the early integration of inspection management systems at a strategic level, although detailed planning is still required through the use of integrated management tools. The model combines information on responsibilities, tasks and policies, of personnel in the inspection management of the piping system with the oil and gas industry. Findings The six inspection activities recognized for the main practical model are, namely, identify pipeline situation; inspect and measure defects; inspection assessment; design inspection; implement inspection activities and measure and report inspection. Originality/value This research presented not only a process but also the framework and techniques to manage and improve management effectiveness and inspection efficiency in pipelines of the oil and gas industry. This study will be useful to researchers maintenance professionals and others concerned with inspection and maintenance management of facilities and equipment in the oil and gas industry.